Be sure to think before you party

I heartily agree with Scott Andrew Schulz's opinion that sex under the influence of alcohol is still cheating, drunken haze notwithstanding (Schulz, 9/30/98). However, Schulz ignores one crucial issue often present when alcohol and people mix: sexual assault.

As we all know, alcohol decreases inhibitions and generally effects judgment. It also decreases your ability to communicate with others. Not being fully aware of someone else's desires (or lack thereof) can have disastrous consequences.

Under Arizona state law, a person under the influence of alcohol is legally unable to give consent. This means that sex occurring when one or both people is drunk is legally rape.

Many people consider sex under the influence to be something that is harmless, or that "just happens." But keep in mind that statistics tell us that 84 percent of men who committed acts legally defined as rape don't realize that a) they did anything wrong, and b) that they may have traumatized someone. And also remember that only 10 percent of sexual assault victims report their trauma.

I have learned a lot about sexual assault issues as the director of ASUA's Campus Acquaintance Rape Educators, but most of that knowledge goes along with common sense. Sex is something that should be done by people who are aware of their surroundings and of each other.

In my mind, you shouldn't have sex with someone you wouldn't sleep with if you were sober.

So the next time you party, think of the person you left at home, and whether or not there is a significant other in your life, think of the risk you run of regretting your actions in the morning.

Whitney D. Grese
German studies senior